Priceline 101: How to Travel for Cheap

Good morning Loves. If you’re planning a summer vacation or a weekend road trip you may be searching the web for a good deal. That’s really the key to travel freedom, do it for cheap and you’ll be able to travel more often.

Where do you want to go on vacation?

I am lucky to live in Montreal which is close to several major American cities such as New York and Boston. It’s also pretty close to Maine, although I’ve never been. I like to get away but since Montreal Airport is not a hub it can be quite expensive to book flights.

I’ve found a way to travel for cheap without being totally inconvenienced or staying in a bed bug infested hotel. It’s called Priceline. You may have seen the commercials on TV with William Shatner and Penny from The Big Bang Theory. Priceline is a discount travel website that offers really cheap deals on hotels, flights and car rentals.

I usually book my hotels on Priceline, but I’ve also reserved a rental car and booked flights occasionally. Over the years I’ve become obsessed with trying to find the best deals so I can travel for cheap. I honestly feel like I’ve mastered the art of booking travel on Priceline.com. Today I’m sharing all my secrets with you!

4 ways to travel for cheap with Priceline.com

Book on Tuesdays

A lot of people like to search for hotels and flights on Saturdays. This is a huge mistake. Think of Priceline as life insurance, the cost changes with the supply and demand. I find the prices to be substantially higher if you book on weekends. Tuesdays seem to be the day with the cheapest deals. I recently booked a flight from Montreal to Charlotte, NC for $360 roundtrip. That’s an amazing deal because on the United Airways website the flight was $500. The more you save on travel the more you can spend on eating and shopping. Right?!

Use Express Deals

I have spent many days calculating the difference between regular deals, the name your own price option and express deals. Priceline charges fees and taxes on hotel bookings and the cost is similar amongst all three price options. I like to use the express deals because the prices are cheaper than the regular deals. If I can’t find a hotel in my budget I will try the name your own price feature but I’ve only used it a couple of times. In March I booked a 4 star hotel in NYC for $89 a night. It was awesome.

Get Coupons

Priceline is all about customer service. After a hotel stay you’ll receive an email request to rate your stay as well as a coupon for 5% or 10% off your next booking. It’s really a great service and I find the prices to be a lot cheaper than Travelocity or Expedia. You can also join discount and cash back websites such as Ebates.com. If you book your Priceline reservation through Ebates you’ll also receive cash back on top of the deal, now that’s smart shopping.